Nation news briefs

BODY OF MISSING FLA. BABY FOUND IN TRUNK: CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) — A 1-month-old baby was found dead Friday in the trunk of a car in Florida, and the boy's father has been taken into custody, police said.

The infant was identified as Josiah Santil, said Coral Springs police Lt. Joe McHugh. The boy's father, Janus Saintil, 24, was arrested Friday outside a Coral Springs apartment. Charges were not immediately filed. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.

An autopsy will be performed on the child. An official cause of death has not yet been released.

"When you say you've seen it all, this is one of those things," Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti said. "It's almost like the baby was carelessly discarded inside the trunk. Total lack of respect for the life. It's one of those things, if you are a parent, it's got to tug at your heart strings."

RARE BOOK OF MORMON MISSING FROM ARIZONA STORE: MESA, Ariz. (AP) — A first-edition copy of the Book of Mormon that draws hundreds of missionaries to an Arizona bookstore has gone missing.

The Arizona Republic reports that Mesa police are investigating the disappearance, which happened sometime during the Memorial Day weekend.

Helen Schlie, owner of Rare and Out of Print Books and Art, says the last time she saw the book was when she put it away in a fireproof box Friday night. She says it wasn't discovered missing until Monday afternoon when two Mormon missionaries stopped by asking to get pictures taken with the book.

Schlie says the book is worth $100,000 but isn't insured.

She says it's well-known throughout the nearby Mormon community that the store had an original copy.

SC EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION INCLUDES FUN PARK OUTING: COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — An amusement park outing, barbecue lunches and director dunking booths are among the ways that South Carolina state agencies showed appreciation for their employees.

All state agencies were encouraged to do something May 9 for State Employee Recognition Day — an annual event proclaimed this year by Gov. Nikki Haley, held during national recognition week.

The state's economic development agency treated 69 employees to an afternoon at Frankie's Fun Park in Columbia. The $2,280 trip included lunch and remarks by Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt, who considers employee morale and teamwork essential to an agency's success.

The small investment is worthwhile, said Commerce spokeswoman Amy Love, as a way for Commerce employees to "get to know each other, enjoy time together and hear from the head of the agency in a face-to-face setting."

Asked what she thought of the outing, Haley said she didn't know anything about it. As for how the Republican governor recognized her staff on her proclaimed day, she said — only half-jokingly — that they don't have time to be appreciated.

Several hours into his run, he didn't even bother to take some of the allotted breaks.

"He finished quite solidly," said Guinness World Records adjudicator Philip Robertson, who traveled from London to the park to verify that an official Guinness record was being set. The previous mark, 24 hours and 30 minutes, was set by a woman in Dublin, Ireland, last year.

Witnesses said Martinez seemed to hit his stride after some worrisome queasiness during the first few hours, when the big wheel stopped and started repeatedly to let other riders on and off.

The 18-year police veteran, who is assigned to the LAPD's special crime task force, acknowledged he doesn't like heights and doesn't much care for Ferris Wheels either.

What's more, he did nothing special to prepare for his marathon effort.

"But after 18 years of long shifts, double shifts and a lot of extended hours, I think that kind of helped, actually," he said with a laugh.